How to win lane as Nasus against Gnar · 52.18% win rate (550 Emerald+ games, lolalytics, sampled July 2026) · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15
Respect Mega Gnar — Wither him in mini form, farm stacks.
Track: Gnar's R — GNAR! (90–30s cooldown). His Mega all-in. Don’t fight transform.
Read from Nasus's seat: which stage windows this plan plays for against Gnar.
This is Nasus's own plan; across 550 pooled games the lane is leaning Nasus.
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Gnar | No Wither, no ult, no stacks — mini-Gnar's boomerang (Q) pokes you off every Siphoning Strike last-hit and you can't answer. |
| Level 2 | Gnar | He hops (E) in and out freely while you're locked to auto-range farming; Hyper (W) stacks him move speed as he lands hits. |
| Level 3 | Gnar | Even with Wither coming online he kites with boomerang (Q) and hop (E) before you can pin him for a Siphoning Strike. |
| Levels 4-5 | Even / skill | Wither now punishes a deep hop, but he respects it and pokes from range — it's a genuine standoff where neither commits. |
| Level 6 | Even / skill | Fury of the Sands plus Wither lets you survive a single all-in, but his Mega AOE stun answers it — the 6 window is even and bait-dependent. |
| First item | Gnar | His Mega transform plus AOE stun out-trades your first item if you mistime it, and he can still poke your stacks away with mini-Q. |
| Two+ items | Nasus | Stacked Siphoning Strike, ult and Wither finally pin him — his kite dies, your lifesteal eats his poke, and you win the 1v1. |
Gnar owns these levels and you have to accept it — his boomerang (Q) and hop (E) let mini-Gnar dance in, chip you, and leave before your only sticking tool exists. You have no Wither until 3 and no ult, so do NOT walk up to contest; soak Siphoning Strike (Q) farm at max range and tank the poke knowing your Soul Eater lifesteal sews it back over time. The one thing to punish: if he over-commits a hop to last-hit deep, that's a free trade — otherwise just stack.
Pooled Emerald+ win rates from Nasus's side, sampled July 2026.
The full Nasus vs Gnar report continues with the mid-game plan, the late-game and teamfight plan, every power spike to play around, and the win conditions for both sides — plus cooldown tracking and the live enemy-jungle tracker inside the app.
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Nasus, slightly — a 52.18% win rate edge over 550 games; execution can flip it.
Mostly — Nasus has a small statistical edge (52.18% win rate), but execution decides this lane far more than the pick does.
Not a hard counter — Nasus has a slight edge (52.18% win rate), and play quality decides the rest.
Nasus takes Fleet Footwork on the Precision tree with Triumph, Legend: Haste and Last Stand, and Resolve secondary (Second Wind and Unflinching) vs Gnar.
Start Doran's Shield + Health Potion and back for Sheen (≈900g) — every Q after this hits twice as hard. Build Trinity Force (Iceborn Gauntlet if you need the slow + armor) first, then Frozen Heart (his attack speed dies here), with Plated Steelcaps.
Playing the other side? Gnar vs Nasus guide →
All Nasus top lane matchups →
More Nasus top lane matchups: vs Galio · vs Gangplank · vs Garen · vs Gragas · vs Graves · vs Gwen